Dan Hytko to continue to serve as girls’ varsity basketball coach at Cohoes High School

Dan Hytko, right, receives a hug from Abby Alix after he was unanimously appointed to continute serving as the coach of the Cohoes High School girls’ varsity basketball coach during a board of education meeting held on Wednesday, June 30, 2014.
Mike McMahon - The Record

cohoes >> While the Cohoes School Board unanimously approved long-time coach Dan Hytko as the girls varsity basketball coach, a grievance from the local teachers’ union is still possible.

Wednesday night’s meeting was packed with dozens of Hytko’s former student-athletes who came to support the retired attendance teacher who had served the Cohoes City School District for 28 years before retiring in 2006.

Since retirement, he has continued to coach basketball at Cohoes High School. However, this past academic year, a current teacher voiced an interest in the position. Each candidate was interviewed by a panel and the school board unanimously accepted the recommendation made by Superintendent Robert Libby.

“I think it’s great,” said Hytko after the decision had been announced.

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His supporters wore t-shirts that said “#TeamHytko”. Former student athletes of varying ages attended the meeting.

Katie Smith, a 1997 graduate of Cohoes High School, heard about the possibility of her former softball coach not being able to continue in the position and she wanted to help. She helped start the #TeamHytko effort.

“He was a great coach and made the game fun,” she said. “I was appalled when I heard and thought it was disrespectful to him considering everything he’s done for the sports programs at the school.”

District officials were confused about the proper action since wording in the collective bargaining union contract states both that current and incumbent coaches have priority. But, in this case, one of the possible coaches was a current teacher while Hytko was the incumbent.

“Approving the incumbent was the right choice,” said Libby.

“It’s been an evolving process,” added board president Matt Nolin.

Union officials at the meeting did not want to comment since it was an ongoing personnel issue.

Hytko said he had mixed emotions about the issue since he had spent some time as a union official himself. He felt like the union was forgetting about its retired members.

“I don’t see myself as a non-teacher. I’m still a teacher. I’ll always be a teacher,” said Hytko, a resident of Cohoes who has coached various sports for nearly 20 years. “But I’m overwhelmed by the support of my former and current athletes. I think the proof is in the pudding here.”

If a union grievance were to be filed, it would eventually go before an arbitrator. However, that’s not likely to take place before the end of basketball season.

At the meeting, one resident said during a public comment period that he felt the district’s athletic director should resign due to the recent issues of “unfairness” and “dishonesty.”

There was also some controversy over the appointment of the boys’ soccer coach. A student voiced that he and his team members preferred a coach other than the one officially appointed by a vote of 4-3 by the board.